Callopistria floridensis

Callopistria floridensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Callopistria
Species: C. floridensis
Binomial name
Callopistria floridensis
(Guenée, 1852)
Synonyms
  • Eriopus elegantulus Herrich-Schaffer, 1868
  • Callopistria elegantula
  • Callopistria strena Grote, 1895

The Florida Fern Moth or Florida Fern Caterpillar (Callopistria floridensis) is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found from North America (including Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, New Brunswick, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas).,[1] south through the Caribbean (including Cuba),[2] Mexico and Central America (including Costa Rica) to Ecuador.[3]

Damage
Larvae

The wingspan is about 29 mm. Adults are on wing year round in Florida and the tropics.

The larvae feed on various ferns, including Nephrolepis exaltata. They are highly variable in coloration, ranging from green to brown, black or reddish. It is an occasional pest in greenhouses.

References

  1. ↑ mothphotographersgroup
  2. ↑ The Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera) from Cuba described by Herrich-Schaffer and Gundlach in the Gundlach Collection, Havana
  3. ↑ BOLD Systems


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